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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28178910">Spun a Dreidel With My Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buriedinbaltimore/pseuds/buriedinbaltimore'>buriedinbaltimore</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All For The Game - Nora Sakavic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AFTG Winter Exchange 2020, Anal Sex, Background Nicky/Erik, Blow Jobs, Canon Compliant, Come play, Face-Fucking, Facials, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Jewish Neil Josten, Lesbian Renee Walker, Lots of OCs - Freeform, M/M, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Strip Dreidel, background Renee/Original Female Character, background aaron/katelyn, background dan/matt, now for the dirty stuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:41:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28178910</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buriedinbaltimore/pseuds/buriedinbaltimore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter Exchange 2020 gift.</p><p>Chapter 1 (Rated T): It’s 6.5 years after canon and the Foxes host a holiday party! It switches back and forth between a more traditional narrative and excerpts from a magazine article written about the event.</p><p>Chapter 2 (Rated E): After the party, Andrew and Neil play strip dreidel and have dirty sex. PWP. Please enjoy responsibly. </p><p>Each chapter can be read on its own, so if just want Andreil smut, you can skip to chapter two, and if you just want a holiday party with the Foxes you can read chapter one as a stand alone as well. For the full fluff/smut experience read both!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>AFTG Exchange Winter 2020, Potential (Post-Canon Fox Stories)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One: Holiday Party (Rated T)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonicee/gifts">lemonicee</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My gift for lemonicee for the 2020 winter exchange! I split your prompt into 2 parts and made them holiday themed, I hope you enjoy!</p><p>This spiraled into something way longer than I expected, so then I was rushing and unable to finish in time for a beta read, sorry for any errors! I also tried using CSS and work skins for the first time, so please let me know if there are any issues with it!</p><p>Edit: I forgot to mention, the title is from Dreidels Of Fire by Adam Green :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1 class="magtitle">
<span class="magthe">THE </span><br/>
NEW YORKER</h1><h3 class="mag twoline">Profiles</h3><h2 class="mag">Epistemology and Exy: A Night with Marlies D. Freudenberger</h2><p class="mag smallcaps">By: Joshua List</p>
<p></p><div class="mag magbod"><p>When a person is routinely compared to the likes of Michel Foucault, Hannah Ardent, and Noam Chomsky, you don’t expect to find them spending their holidays in the company of professional athletes, models, and pop stars, but that is exactly where I found German philosopher and author Marlies Freudenberger when I met up with her in Philadelphia. In town for a lecture series at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Freudenberger invited me to accompany her, along with her cousin, Erik Klose and his partner Nicholas Hemmick, to a holiday party at the home of Mr. Hemmick’s cousin. Until I arrived I was unaware that the cousin in question was none other than the Philly Independence’s star goalie, Andrew Minyard. </p><p>Being greeted, if you can call him opening the door then walking away without a word being greeted, by the fierce yet surprisingly short goalkeeper was my first surprise of the night, but not the last. Although there were plenty of athletes in attendance the party was by no means intellectually bereft. Besides Dr. Freudenberger and her guest, noted poet Calla Jensson, the party also included Dr. Ben Lehto, professor and Co-Director of the Penn Center for Particle Cosmology, Amanda Porras, a visual and performance artist whose exhibition is currently on view at the Locks Gallery in Philadelphia, and celebrated philanthropists Priya Joshi and Brendan Moore, just to name a few of the more well know attendees. </p><p>Not to mention Aurora Azra Fay, whose new album has been number one on the pop charts for the past nine weeks. And most intriguing to me, the legendary Palmetto State Foxes. I found it hard to focus on my assignment of profiling just Dr. Freudenberger in such company, so in addition to my article on her, I’ve included short profiles of some of the guests, famous and unfamous alike, who made up the most remarkable party I’ve ever been to.</p>
<hr/></div><p>Neil was standing in his crowded living room, “supervising” as people started supplementing his furniture with bar tables and buffets, unsure of how this all happened. About a month ago he received a call from Dan asking him, no, actually she didn’t ask but simply informed him that she and Matt would be hosting a holiday party at his and Andrew’s apartment in Philadelphia. She had claimed at the time that the only thing he and Andrew would have to do would be to show up, but that was clearly not the case.</p><p>What Neil had assumed would be just another Fox reunion had turned into a party with a guest list of 40 people, not counting Neil and Andrew. He was ready to murder Dan and Matt when they finally arrived, but then he would have to host the stupid thing himself. He kept a watchful eye on the strangers moving in and out of his apartment with his back to the wall and mentally went over the guest list Dan had sent him that morning. </p><p>All the Foxes from Neil’s freshman year would be here, along with half a dozen other professional exy players. Four from his and Andrew’s current team and two that Matt had invited from other teams who were in the city for the holiday break, and most of them were bringing plus ones. Allison’s guest list included a few models she was friends with and a couple artists that she was interested in collaborating with on her new fashion line, while Renee invited a couple that were major donors to the nonprofit she worked for, whom she had also become good friends with. Renee was also bringing her girlfriend Aurora, who apparently was an extremely famous pop star. They’d been together for almost nine months now, and Neil was a little nervous about Andrew meeting her, but he trusted Renee to handle the situation. </p><p>Aaron and Katelyn were coming in from Chicago with Kevin, and Katelyn had invited two friends of hers who lived in Philly. Even Nicky and Erik were making the trip from Germany. Erik’s cousin, a well known philosopher, was in the city lecturing at U Penn and had somehow not only gotten invited, but she was bringing a friend as well.</p><p>Dan had insisted that Andrew and Neil invite some friends too, so Neil invited his two running buddies that he had met in the park, and Andrew invited the owner of the bodega on the corner. Andrew and Mohammad had struck up a friendship when he and Neil first moved into the apartment last year, when Neil had transferred onto Philly’s team. Neil wasn’t sure how their unconventional friendship had started, but he suspected it had something to do with the old blind cat that lived in the bodega, who usually spent his time laying on top of the cases of PBR and would occasionally pop out unexpectedly from behind the boxes of mac and cheese. </p><p>Andrew and Neil’s three invitees were also all bringing plus ones, and Neil realized he knew nothing about Ben and Jiyoon besides how fast they could run a mile. It was definitely going to be an interesting night. Neil’s phone started to ring and as he pulled it out he saw Matt’s name on the screen. </p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>“Hey man!” Matt answered, “We’re on the road and should be arriving in about two hours, are the caterers there yet?”</p><p>“Yes.” Neil said, choosing not to share how annoyed he was.</p><p>“Well don’t you sound excited,” Dan’s sarcastic voice came down the line. They must have been using the car’s speaker phone. </p><p>“I didn’t sign up for this you know,” Neil responded, “You said all I’d have to do is show up, well I’m doing more than that aren’t I? You don’t get to complain about my attitude.”</p><p>“Okay, fine, that’s fair.” Matt said hurriedly, before Dan could respond. “We also wanted to let you know about an addition to the guest list…” Matt’s voice trailed off but Neil didn’t prompt him for any further information.</p><p>After it became obvious that neither Neil nor Matt were going to say anything, Dan said, “So you know Erik’s cousin is some kinda big deal, well a reporter is writing an article on her and they’re coming to the party too.” </p><p>“A reporter? Is coming to my and Andrew’s house? And you thought we’d be okay with that?” Neil was furious, he spent more energy than he’d like to admit avoiding the press when it came to anything non-exy related, and now a journalist would be coming into direct contact with his personal business. He felt a phantom sense of panic creeping up his spine and reminded himself there was no danger now, just annoyance.</p><p>“Since we’re technically hosting Nicky asked us if it was alright. If you would just take some responsibility you could have told him no.” Dan said. She sounded particularly stressed but Neil had no sympathy for her.</p><p>“I didn’t want to have this dumb fucking party in the first place,” Neil retorted, “You promised Andrew and I wouldn’t have to do anything, which is the only reason we agreed. This is such bullshit. Not to mention my worst Chanukah ever.” </p><p>“Oh yeah dude, Happy Chanukah!” Matt said enthusiastically and Neil heard what sounded like Dan giving him a slap.</p><p>“Don’t be so dramatic,” Dan said, “It’ll be fine, you probably won’t even notice he’s there.” </p><p>“Yeah because our entire apartment will be filled with a bunch of other random people.” Neil was coming up with different scenarios in his head of how he and Andrew could get out of this, but they would all be more trouble than it was worth.</p><p>“Look, our apartment in the city is too small and anyway if we hosted it anywhere else you and Andrew probably wouldn’t have even come, your apartment is the biggest and most central for everyone, so get over it!” Dan said irritatedly. </p><p>That was probably true, but besides the point. Neil hated reporters and he hated the idea of having all these strangers in his and Andrew’s space. He knew there was no stopping it now though and no use in arguing about it. </p><p>“You guys better enjoy tonight, because nothing like this will ever be happening again. I have to go, Andrew is at the airport picking up Kevin, Aaron, and Katelyn and I have to check on the caterers in the kitchen.” </p><p>“We love and appreciate you!” Neil heard Matt yelling as he hung up the phone.</p>
<hr/>
<p></p><div class="mag magbod"><p>It turns out Mr. Hemmick, along with his cousins Andrew and Aaron Minyard, were members of the infamous Palmetto State University Foxes Exy team, who made national headlines six years ago when they upset the NCAA league by beating the, until then, undefeated Edgar Allen University Ravens in the championship. The Foxes had previously been known only for their recruitment policies, poor performance, and tendency to brawl with each other on the court. </p><p>From the inception of the team Coach David Wymack looked for players who might have fallen through the cracks otherwise, kids with talent but no one looking out for them. His program was on the verge of being canceled and declared an idealistic failure when the world was shocked by what seemed to many like a sports film come to life. They started winning their games, and within one season the underdogs reigned triumphant over the unrivaled number one team in the nation. </p>
<h3 class="twoline">Dan and Matt Boyd-Wilds</h3><p>Dan Boyd-Wilds, the first woman to be a NCAA division one exy captain, led the Palmetto State Foxes to their historic victory, and she and her husband, Matt Boyd-Wilds, were our official hosts of the evening. Although they live in New York; Dan is the assistant coach of the CCNY Exy team and Matt, whom she met in college, plays exy professionally for the New York Red Bulls, they were the ones who initially planned the party as a reunion for the old PSU Foxes. However, the event soon became an affair with a guest list that would have made Gertrude Stein envious.</p><p>Dan and Matt are one of those couples that seem to be so complementary that you are unsure how one would exist without the other. They move around each other like they are in a choreographed dance. When I asked how the evening came to be, they both laughed, eyes twinkling with the reflection of string lights. </p><p>“Haphazardly, and with many threats of violence.” Matt answered me. </p><p>“Actually,” Dan said, turning to look at him, “Andrew was more cooperative than I thought he would be.” she turned back to me and said, “but there were many threats. It really was just hiring a great caterer and welcoming whoever wanted to join us. We chose Philadelphia because we knew all the Foxes would be able to get here, and the guest list slowly started expanding to all the people we know and love in the area.”</p><p>“Babe,” Matt said once she had stopped talking. Although the two seem to finish each other’s sentences, I noticed that Matt never once interrupted Dan, he was always listening raptly to whatever his wife had to say and waited for a cue that she was done speaking or wanted him to speak up. “We should-”</p><p>“Oh yeah, excuse us.” Dan said, and left me in the company of my other hosts for the night.</p>
<h3 class="twoline">Erik Klose and Nicky Hemmick</h3><p>I met Nicky Hemmick and Erik Klose earlier in the day when I had the first portion of my interview with Dr. Freudenberger, and it was them who graciously invited me to the party. The couple live together in Stuttgart, Germany, where Nicky works as an in-house marketing associate for Porsche AG and Erik is a systems engineer specializing in automation and manufacturing at Fraunhofer IPA. </p><p>Nicky and Erik are extremely kind, with matching kilowatt smiles. They met when Nicky studied abroad his senior year of high school in Germany and was assigned the Kloses as his host family. They’ve been together for twelve years, however, when Nicky was just twenty years old he assumed custody of his sixteen year old cousins, Aaron and Andrew Minyard. He relocated back to South Carolina to care for them, and was offered a scholarship to play exy with the Palmetto State University Foxes with his cousins two years later.</p><p>Despite having a long distance relationship for seven years, once Nicky graduated he moved back to Germany and he and Erik have been living happily together ever since. Nicky’s energy and vivacious nature is contrasted by Erik’s easygoing and composed presence. They arrived at the party in matching Christmas sweaters, carrying a literal sack of presents over their shoulders.</p><p>“We had to get something for everyone!” Nicky told me when I asked about the gifts.</p><p>“Not everyone, dear,” Erik corrected in heavily accented English, “Just the family.”</p><p>“Well the family is pretty fucking large,” Nicky said. “Eight Foxes, two significant others, and of course my grandchildren!” </p><p>“He’s referring to the cats.” Erik informed me, before I got to ask.</p><p>“Andrew would never forgive me if I forgot Sir and King. We got everything at the Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt, it’s amazing! Like an entire month of Christmas magic! I’m sad we’re missing most of it this year, but it's so nice to have a long vacation. And at least we’ll be able to go to an American Baptist Christmas service.” </p><p>“What’s wrong with the German services, hm?” Erik teased.</p><p>“Nothing, I love them! They’re just different and not actually on Christmas day? Really, they’re great, I’m just excited to be here. We’re going to First Baptist, it’s a progressive church in Philly.” </p><p>Nicky explained to me a little of his history with religion, his estranged father is a Baptist minister in South Carolina, and when Nicky came out to his parents at age fifteen they sent him to a conversion camp for a year. Despite his horrific experiences, Nicky has found his peace with religion and himself. </p><p>“It’s all about love and family.” He tells me, “which is another reason I’m so excited to be here. The Foxes are my family, I see Aaron and Andrew more often, but it’s incredible when all nine of us can get together.”</p>
<h3 class="twoline">Calla Jensson</h3><p>Calla Jensson has been making waves in literary circles for years now, her most recent book of poetry, “Isn’t Not” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and it is rumored that she will be named the next US Poet Laureate, which would make her the first transgender woman to hold the honor. She came to the party as the plus one of Dr. Freudenberger, the two are close friends and Dr. Freudenberger has been living with Calla during her tenure in Philadelphia. </p><p>After just one conversation with Calla I was left with the impression that I had just spoken to one of the most intelligent people to quite possibly have ever existed. When I mention this formidable effect she has, she laughed it off.</p><p>“Oh, I can turn a phrase and I won’t deny I’ve got brains, but I’m not so far above anyone else.” she informed me. “And if I’ve learned anything from Marlies, it’s that no one knows what knowledge we don’t know.” she winked at me. </p><p>I was unfortunately unable to spend much time with Ms. Jensson over the course of the evening, but surprisingly she and exy star Kevin Day seemed to have hit it off. I caught some of their debate over whether the Fragments of Heraclitus could be considered poetry, but I was honestly unable to follow the discussion. For the remainder of the night I rarely saw one without the company of the other. </p>
<h3 class="twoline">Kevin Day</h3><p>Arguably one of the most famous athletes alive today, Kevin Day, the son of exy and star striker for the Chicago Fire is also a former Fox. His transfer to the team after what many believed was a career ending injury, and his subsequent recovery and comeback as the “Queen of Exy” was the biggest factor in turning the team from a catastrophe into champions. </p><p>Most know the tragic story of his life, the death of his mother and estrangement from his birth father for the first nineteen years of his life, the death of his adopted brother, and the aforementioned injury that almost ended his career. Despite all that, Kevin has risen triumphant, helping Chicago to win the last three national championships and leading the US Court team to its first olympic victory in last year’s games. </p><p>He is well known for his commitment and dedication to exy, some going so far as to call him obsessed, but what many don’t know is that his degree in ancient history is apparently not just for show. While he was always polite and charismatic in our few direct interactions over the course of the night, I learned the most about the athlete from observing him with his old teammates and Ms. Jensson. He comes across as driven and fiercely intelligent, but also extremely caring and at times even profound. </p><p>While he appeared somewhat stiff when socializing with most of the party’s attendees, there was a remarkable change in his demeanor whenever another Fox was next to him. He appeared to be particularly close with Allison Reynolds; while his other teammates relaxed him with just their presence, she took it a step further and the two were very physically affectionate. Their easy nature with one another has brought about dating rumors in the past, but the pair, and the other Foxes who were around when I inquired, found the idea of them being romantically involved incredibly laughable and slightly nauseating.</p>
<hr/></div><p>Neil was laying on their bed as Andrew went through his closet picking out clothes for him to wear. They left Kevin to supervise the workers while they got ready. Andrew had dropped Aaron and Katelyn at the hotel where everyone else was staying to get changed, but Kevin was staying in their spare bedroom. He had already complained about Sir and King activating his allergies but it was obvious he missed spending time with Andrew and Neil and was glad to be there. </p><p>Neil was on his back, staring up at the ceiling. </p><p>“Stop sulking.” Andrew said, throwing a soft dark sapphire blue sweater with white and grey speckles and a pair of black slacks at Neil. </p><p>“We could not go,” Neil suggested, “get a hotel room for the night and just let Kevin, Matt and Dan deal with it.” </p><p>Andrew started changing his own clothes, pulling off his t-shirt and joggers. He stood looking down at Neil in just his trunks and arm bands, his arms crossed across his chest. Neil turned his head to the side to look at him and was at eye level with Andrew’s bulging underwear. He lost his train of thought and Andrew sighed and turned around, giving Neil a great view of his ass. Andrew started pulling on his own slacks and Neil sat up. </p><p>There was a banging on their bedroom door. “They’re here.” Kevin’s voice came through as Andrew pulled one of his extra expensive, only for special occasions, long sleeved black shirts that Neil could find absolutely nothing special about, over his head.</p><p>“Too late now.” Andrew said, making his way towards the door. When he opened it Neil heard the Foxes voices clamoring over one another, commenting about the decorations and greeting Kevin. Andrew walked out, leaving the door open behind him and Neil got up to close it and get changed, resigned to his fate.</p><p>He walked into the living room to find Dan, Matt, Aaron, Katelyn, and Kevin standing around the bar that had been put up in the corner of the room. Andrew and Allison were behind it, mixing drinks. The bartender the caterers had sent was standing awkwardly behind them as they poured generous helpings for everyone.</p><p>“Neil!” Allison called, catching sight of him first, and the rest of the Foxes turned around to greet him.</p><p>After he hugged everyone and nodded at Aaron, Andrew handed him a glass of whiskey and finished making everyone else’s drinks.</p><p>“Too bad Roland isn’t here, huh.” Matt commented, watching Andrew and Allison’s progress. Matt had started coming to their Eden’s nights more frequently in college after the girls graduated. </p><p>“Who cares about him!” Allison said, putting the finishing touch on her drink, the only one she had actually mixed, and walking around the bar to hang on Kevin’s side. She was wearing a red velvet dress with gold heels, and she had cut her hair to just below her chin since the last time Neil saw her. “When do Renee and Nicky get here? We haven’t all been together since Santa Fe.” </p><p>“We weren’t all at Santa Fe, and that was like, two years ago.” Aaron said, rolling his eyes. He and Nicky had missed that trip.</p><p>“Yeah, but we were all at the Olympics this summer, that was only like four months ago.” Dan said, counting back on her fingers. </p><p>“Whatever,” Allison said, not willing to admit she was still bitter about an injury prematurely ending her exy career, but electing to gloss over the topics that upset her. “Let’s get this party started! Andrew, pour some shots!”</p><p>The buzzer rang and Neil looked to Dan and Matt, who didn’t react. “Shouldn’t the hosts get the door?” he said.</p><p>“Right!” Matt responded, “Sorry, it’s weird hosting at someone else’s house.”</p><p>Neil walked to the door to release the buzzer but came back to the bar before whoever it was reached their apartment. Dan and Matt grabbed their drinks and walked over to the door to wait.</p><p>“Your place looks great.” Katelyn said, looking at the garlands, ribbons, string lights and candles that had been put up around the room. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace and tall tables covered in gauzy white table cloths were scattered around the large living room, some with jumbo candy canes artfully arranged in the middle while others had dreidels and gelt. A couple waiters stood around the walls with trays of appetizers waiting for more guests to arrive to start serving them.</p><p>“Where’s the tree?” Kevin asked.</p><p>Andrew gestured towards the large electric menorah on the window still. The caterers had tried to get them to put up an artificial tree but Neil didn’t want one, the electric menorah was a compromise.</p><p>“Right.” Kevin said, just as Matt opened the door to let three of Andrew and Neil’s teammates and two people Neil didn’t know in. More greetings and calls of “Happy Holidays” echoed around the high ceilings and Neil took a big sip of his drink. </p><p>He gritted his teeth as the first swallow of alcohol burned down his throat, “Let’s get this over with.” he said, catching Aaron rolling his eyes as he turned to say hello to his teammates and meet their partners.</p>
<hr/>
<p></p><div class="mag magbod"><h3 class="twoline">Allison Reynolds</h3><p>Another celebrity Fox, Allison Reynolds, was also in attendance. Allison grew up in the spotlight, a regular in the gossip columns since she was a teenager. Her parents own and operate the Reynolds Group, a world wide luxury hotel and resort conglomerate which made her a billionaire heiress. She shocked the world when she walked away from her inheritance to play exy, without the support of her family. </p><p>She did well on her own, joining the New Orleans Jesters exy team after graduating from Palmetto and even making alternate for the US Court team. She was expected to move up to starter at last summer’s games, however an injury two years ago cut her promising career short. She rallied quickly, starting her own fashion line which officially launched at last February’s Paris Fashion Week and received rave reviews. </p><p>She was responsible for the presence of the models at the party, friends of hers that were in the city. She also invited potential collaborators, and I found her in the company of Amanda Porras, whose current exhibition at the Locks Gallery in Philadelphia has received rave reviews from critics. The pair refused to offer any details on whether we would see any work from the two of them together in the future, but they clearly got along well with one another. </p><p>Allison’s transition from professional athlete to CEO and creative director of her own fashion label in just fifteen months is impressive to say the least. I asked how she managed such a feat.</p><p>“Well having tons of money obviously helps.” she told me candidly, I found Ms. Reynolds is not one for polite niceties or white lies. “After I broke my leg my parents apologized for disowning me and all the psychological trauma they put me through, blah, blah, blah. Basically they offered to bank roll me if I’d start talking to them again. Don’t get me wrong, no amount of money can make me do something I don’t want to do, but Renee convinced me to give them a chance. Our relationship still isn’t great or even good but we’re working on it.”</p><p>“Also, to be clear, the label is already turning a profit, I’m great at what I do. I’m just acknowledging that the rapidity of my success is in part owed to the availability of an abundance of start up funds.” Other people in positions similar to Allison’s tend to try and conceal or belittle that fact, or at the very least are embarrassed by it. However, when she spoke about her privilege she did so with a fierce glint in her eye and determination in her tone. </p><p>“I’m working on something,” she admitted to me when I confronted her about her attitude. “Renee and Aurora are helping, I can’t say too much yet, but I want to help other women, especially women of color, have the same opportunities I have.” </p><p>As she said herself, it’s impossible to get Allison to do something she doesn’t want to do, and she did not want to share any details about that upcoming project either. She did however share some advice with me; I should switch to round framed glasses, the rectangular shape I currently wear doesn’t suit me, she even offered to email me some recommendations.</p>
<h3 class="twoline">Aurora Azra Fay</h3><p>The Foxes may have some notoriety in the sports community, but none of them hold a candle to Aurora Azra Fay, the current number one streaming artist on Spotify. I feel giving any background information on the household name is unnecessary, but for those of you living under a rock for the past three years here it is. </p><p>Aurora first entered the spotlight three years ago when her self-recorded and released EP, “Curious,” started making the rounds. A Detroit native, she had just graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology and recorded the original songs to complement her resume while looking for a job as a studio engineer. She sent the recordings to a dozen studios and had not heard anything back yet when her SoundCloud blew up. </p><p>Before she knew it she was fielding calls from multiple labels, not looking to hire her as an engineer but wanting to sign her as an artist. Her self titled debut album released two years ago was Diamond certified in August, representing ten million copies sold (or the equivalent streams). Her latest release which came out in October, “An Angel’s Or a Dragon’s Wings,” has already gone Platinum six times over. </p><p>She came to the party as the guest of her girlfriend, Renee Walker, who is a former Fox. The couple first met two years ago volunteering at D-Town Farm, the urban agriculture initiative of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN), a grassroots food justice group working to increase food security and sovereignty within Detroit's black population. Ms. Walker is also a Detroit native and was volunteering her expertise to the program. </p><p>They have been dating for nine months, and over that period of time Ms. Walker has gained an online following that rivals any of her former teammates who went on to play pro exy. Tabloids pay top dollar for photos of the couple together, but they are few and far between as they both travel extensively for work. </p><p>“That’s why it took us so long to actually get together,” Aurora explained, “from the minute we met there was something electric between us, but most of the time we were on opposite sides of the globe. After a year of pining and pretending we could be just friends we finally gave in and committed to the long distance. It was the best decision of my life.” she was inexplicitly looking at Andrew Minyard while she explained this to me, who stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face.</p><p>I asked if that meant Renee was the inspiration for her new album, and Aurora blushed. “Yeah, you could say that. It almost feels too cheap though. She wasn’t just the inspiration behind the album, that album <b> <em>is</em> </b> how I feel about her. It’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to a creative expression that feels completely true to my experience.”</p><p>Critics and listeners agree that the album is an artistic masterpiece. The singer is slated to go on tour for the album starting in February, and I asked what her plans were until then.</p><p>“Oh, I’ll just be following Renee around and helping where I can. I want to spend as much time as possible with her before the tour starts.”</p>
<h3 class="twoline">Renee Walker</h3><p>When Aurora told the world, during a segment of Carpool Karaoke on The Late Late Show with James Cordon, that she was officially off the market, people immediately started scrambling, trying to find out who her mystery lover was. It didn’t take long for her fans to notice Renee in the background of paparazzi shots and even one instagram post. The question then became, “Who is Renee Walker?”</p><p>Renee was a goalkeeper on the Palmetto State Foxes exy team, however she didn’t choose to go into the sport professionally. Instead, she got a job at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a  non-profit, nonsectarian associate member organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association that works to provide disaster relief and promote human rights and social justice around the world. </p><p>Renee specializes in environmental justice &amp; climate action work, focusing on advancing and protecting the rights of populations at risk of climate-forced displacement, while centering the voices of communities affected and upholding their right to self-determination. Her work involves traveling often around the world, coordinating getting funding directly to local community organizers, and helping them to utilize those funds to achieve their goals, which usually include addressing ecological problems.</p><p>I noticed Renee wearing her signature cross necklace, and asked why she chose to work for a Unitarian Universalist organization rather than one more centered on her beliefs.</p><p>“I’m a born again Christian, and I was brought into the Catholic church, by my foster mother” she explained, “I will be forever grateful for all that they taught me, and for restoring my faith. The heart of all faith is love, believing not just in God but in goodness and redemption. I’ve always known that not everyone finds that in my religion, or even in religion at all, but I believe everyone can find it somewhere. I believe in the Unitarian Universalist Association’s seven principles, and that nobody has a monopoly on truth. It was an easy decision to work with them.” </p><p>If she sounds too good to be true, I can attest that Renee really means and lives by what she claims, not only from speaking with her, but from everyone’s reactions to both her, and meeting Aurora. Never would I have expected a group of people to be so ferociously protective against an unassuming, by all accounts incredibly kind, pop star. No one was unkind to Aurora, Renee would never stand for that, but they made it painfully obvious that they believed Aurora was the one who lucked out in this relationship, and anything done to hurt Renee would not be tolerated. Besides the Foxes, Renee’s other invited guests, philanthropists Priya Joshi and Brendan Moore, could not stop exclaiming her virtues.</p><p>“It’s amazing to work with someone who works so hard, and centers their entire life around, improving the lives of others.” Priya told me.</p><p>I asked Renee how she felt about an album written about her becoming a sensation.</p><p>"I like music that's meant to be felt." Renee told me, “And you feel Aurora’s music undeniably in your soul. It’s an incredible honor to have such an album written about me.”</p>
<hr/></div><p>Half way through the party, Andrew and Neil were standing by the bar, talking quietly to each other in Russian. Now that everyone had arrived and all they had to do was chill Neil was more relaxed and was even enjoying himself. The two drinks he had helped as well. Their conversation was interrupted by Kevin coming over to join them.</p><p>“Hey so,” Kevin started, but before he finished Andrew interrupted.</p><p>“You’re not sleeping here tonight.” Andrew said, flicking his fingers through the air like it was obvious and inconsequential. </p><p>“Hopefully not, have you guys met Calla?”</p><p>“Yeah she’s cool, but I thought you missed <em> us </em> Kevin?” Neil said, teasing him.</p><p>“Shut up, I’ll be here all week.” Kevin said, annoyed and slightly embarrassed. Most professional teams had three weeks off at the end of December and beginning of January. Kevin was spending a week with Andrew and Neil and the rest of the Foxes in Philadelphia, then going down to Palmetto to spend a week with Wymack, before returning to Chicago to get a head start on training.</p><p>“You’ll be here all week?” Andrew asked, feigning surprise, “Did I agree to that? Too much Kevin Day makes me want to quit my job.”</p><p>“Ha ha. It’s not my fault you fell in love with another exy freak. You’re not fooling anyone anymore by the way, we know you actually like exy. You’re a freaking Olympic gold medalist!”</p><p>Andrew didn’t deign to respond to that accusation and coolly put a big coin of chocolate gelt in his mouth whole, then started chewing with his mouth open, which he knew Kevin hated.</p><p>“Gross,” Kevin said, looking away. </p>
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<p></p><div class="mag magbod"><h3 class="twoline">Andrew Minyard</h3><p>Andrew Minyard has also had his fair share of press coverage, but none of it as complementary as his other teammates. He and his twin brother, Aaron Minyard, had more serious run ins with the law and were even at the center of a murder trial. The twins were separated at birth, their mother opting to retain custody of Aaron and placing Andrew in foster care. When he was first recruited to the Foxes, sports publications exposed his three year incarceration in a juvenile facility in California starting when he was just thirteen years old, when he was released at age sixteen he was reunited with his mother and brother who had since moved to South Carolina. </p><p>Shortly after this reunion however, their mother was killed in a car accident and their cousin Nicky stepped in to care for them. And not long after that, Andrew was again facing legal actions from an altercation in which he defended his cousin from a homophobic hate crime. In lieu of further imprisonment, Andrew was required by the court to take psychiatric drugs and seek treatment for undisclosed mental health issues for at least three years. Rumors said the drugs themselves made Mr. Minyard manic, and many questioned his fitness to play Class I exy. </p><p>After seeing what he was capable of, few ever questioned his fitness to play again. Andrew is widely considered the best exy goalkeeper in the world, and the gold medal hanging in his bathroom seems to corroborate that. In any case, he’s been off the court mandated drugs for seven years, and since his graduation the press about him has been much more tame. </p><p>Initially signing with Detroit City Exy team, he was traded to the Philly Independence after just one season. There were rumors at the time of issues with his teammates, but Detroit City insisted that the transfer was strictly strategic. There has been no word of trouble with his Philly team, even when many anticipated issues with his ex-teammate Neil Josten signing on two years ago. Before Neil’s transfer, there were claims in the media of a Minyard-Josten Rivalry, which spawned dozens of memes and articles about their attitudes toward each other in the press and on their social media accounts. </p><p>Mr. Josten was constantly critiquing Mr. Minyard’s performance, while Mr. Minyard met any public mention of Mr. Josten with quiet disdain. It was a surprise to many when they had played so well together in college, and an even bigger surprise when the Philly Independence announced that Mr. Josten would be joining them after a year with the Boston Breakers. Back on the same team, the pair played just as well, if not better than they had together in college, and last summer they both played and won for the US in the Olympics. </p><p>The party was being held at Andrew’s apartment, a beautiful modern penthouse in the Museum District of Philadelphia. The apartment was very tastefully decorated, with floor to ceiling picture windows showing off spectacular views. Although it was his home, Mr. Minyard was not the host this evening, and trying to get him to talk to me was very difficult. I noticed there was a menorah but no Christmas tree, and after my earlier conversations with his cousin and Renee Walker, I decided to ask about his faith. Due to Mr. Minyard being a man of few words, I’ve decided to include my own dialogue to illustrate our only conversation.</p><p>JL: Thank you for having me tonight, you have a lovely home.</p><p>AM: </p><p>JL: I do wonder why you decided to display your medal over the toilet, it seems a little deprecatory?</p><p>AM:</p><p>JL: I also noticed the menorah! Are you Jewish?</p><p>AM: No.</p><p>Later that night I saw another gold medal on display in the study, so I assume the one in the bathroom was just a replica.</p>
<h3 class="twoline">Mohammad </h3><p>As far as I could gleam, the only guest Andrew Minyard invited himself was a man named Mohammad, who asked that his last name not be used, but declined to tell me why he didn’t want it printed. Mohammad is a friendly and soft spoken yet mysterious man, who owns and operates a deli convenience store down the block. He was born in Afghanistan, and immigrated to America 37 years ago when he was 22 years old. He didn’t share many personal details about his own life, but spoke with great admiration about Andrew.</p><p>“Andrew is a good man.” he told me when I asked how the two met. “He comes to my store very often, and is always good to Kurosh, my cat. He helped me out once, and didn’t call the cops. I have a lot of respect for him.”</p><p>He declined to elaborate on how Andrew helped him out, but went on discussing his friend. “He’s the best exy player I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been following the sport since the beginning. I never understood why men and women played soccer separately, my sisters were always much better athletes than I was, so exy is good. But Andrew is on another level. He doesn’t like talking about exy much, but he’s learning Dari, and I help him out with that. He knows Russian too, which know a little, though not as well as English. He invited my whole family tonight you know? He’s a good friend. They couldn’t make it but I wanted to come for him.” </p><p>When I asked if he was enjoying himself at the party alone he laughed, “Who can be at a party alone? I’m having a great time. Meeting all kinds of new people, Andrew’s brother, and Kevin Day is here! Yeah, I’m glad I came.”</p>
<h3 class="twoline">Aaron Minyard and Katelyn Wei</h3><p>The “other Minyard twin” as he is sometimes referred to, Aaron, and his fiance, Katelyn Wei, are both in their fourth year of medical school at Northwestern University. Aaron also played for the PSU Foxes as a backliner, and while he is definitely one of the lesser know players, he had his fifteen minutes in the spotlight when he was put on trial for the murder of Drake Spear in his third year at university. The man he killed was attacking his brother Andrew, and he was cleared of all charges at the trial. </p><p>Now, he refuses to discuss the experience, choosing instead to focus on his future. Aaron and Katelyn have been together for eight years and got engaged six months ago. </p><p>“We wanted to make sure, even if we end up across the country from each other for our residencies, we’ll always be together.” Katelyn told me, showing me her engagement ring. “So we’re planning the wedding for the weekend of our graduation in May. Nicky is helping me and my sister plan everything, and Allison offered to design me a custom dress!”</p><p>Aaron stood quietly beside his fiance all night, except when I caught him and Andrew talking privately together. He was nearly as stoic as his brother with me, though not quite as discourteous. </p>
<h3 class="twoline">Jiyoon Kim and Ben Lehto</h3><p>As the party wound down, I still had not gotten to talk to everyone as much as I would have liked. Two people I wish I could have spent more time with were Jiyoon Kim and Ben Lehto, friends and running buddies who were both invited by Neil Josten. Jiyoon is a tattoo artist while Ben is a physics professor at UPenn and Co-Director of the Penn Center for Particle Cosmology. I asked how they knew each other and met Neil.</p><p>“Ben and I met at the Philly 10k a few years ago and have been training together pretty much ever since.” Jiyoon told me. “We usually meet at the Phila Art Museum, but like at stupid early in the morning, so it’s usually pretty deserted. About a year and a half ago, we ran into Neil running the steps.”</p><p>“Which is not that unusual,” Ben cut in, “You know, everyone wants to reenact Rocky at least once. But I had gotten there early and was waiting for Jiyoon and he just kept running them. Up and down, up and down, seemingly never getting tired. When she got there, we stood and watched him for ten more minutes, just kinda hypnotised by it, you know?” he laughs.</p><p>“We’re both super competitive,” Jiyoon tells me, “which is why we’re such great running partners, and we had to try and keep up with this guy. So we started running the steps too.”</p><p>“And Neil kinda freaked out,” Ben picks up the story. “You’ve probably heard his story, I think he thought we were coming to attack him or something. He tackled Jiyoon and asked her who she worked for. It was like a movie.”</p><p>“Yeah it was kinda scary, but once we got it all cleared up Neil was really nice and apologetic about it. He had just moved to the city and still wasn’t very settled I think. But after that he started running with us sometimes, when he can.” </p><p>“You want to hear the craziest part of that story?” Ben asked me. “He’d never even seen Rocky!”</p>
<hr/></div><p>At midnight the caterers quietly started packing up their things, and most of the guests started to head out. Neil was feeling buzzy and relaxed, sitting on the couch in front of the fire with Andrew. The only people left in his apartment were the caterers and the Foxes, except Kevin who had left earlier with Calla. </p><p>“That Josh guy was kinda a tool huh?” Nicky said, sitting on Erik’s lap in an armchair, playing with his hair. “I mean he was nice enough, but I invited him to a <em> party </em> and he made it into <em> work </em>.”</p><p>“I liked him.” said Renee.</p><p>“You like everyone.” Aaron retorted.</p><p>“That’s absolutely untrue.” Aurora said, snorting. She looked around after she said it, seemingly worried that the Foxes would interpret it as an insult to Renee. Renee herself just smiled and cuddled deeper into Aurora, then Aurora’s eyes met Andrews. Andrew gave her an appraising look, but didn’t say anything.</p><p>“I think that was a major success.” Dan said. She and Matt were sitting on the floor by the fire, her back to his chest. “We should do it every year!”</p><p>“Not at our place.” Neil said with a warning look.</p><p>“Come on,” Matt cajoled, “You told me yourself you had fun! Nothing bad happened. Why not?”</p><p>“No way, and before you say nothing bad happened, there’s going to be an article published about us. Lets see if Josh liked us as much as we liked him."</p>
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<p></p><div class="mag magbod"><h3 class="twoline">Neil Josten</h3><p>Though he may not be the most widely known, the most scandalous Fox would have to be Neil Josten. The son of the Butcher of Baltimore, he disappeared with his mother when he was ten years old, when his father was still believed to be just a businessman. When he resurfaced eight years later to play exy for the Palmetto State Foxes he had changed his name and was still hoping to evade his father’s attention. </p><p>Unfortunately, his plans were upended when he was kidnapped during a riot after one of the Foxes semifinal games. Tortured and disfigured, he somehow managed to escape with his life, and now the world knew the truth. His father, Nathan Wesninski, was one of the most prolific mobsters on the east coast, responsible for dozens of murders and millions of dollars worth of crimes. The Butcher was killed in the confrontation with the police, and Neil went on to testify against the remaining members of his organization. </p><p>Despite sounding like a story grabbed from a Hollywood movie’s script, little is known about Neil Josten beside these rather basic facts. It is not public knowledge where he was those eight years, and details about his current life are just as scarce. He has a reputation for making incendiary and controversial comments about his exy opponents, and even at times his teammates, but beyond the realm of exy, Neil Josten is a mystery.</p><p>My impression of him was that he is almost more enigma than man. Over the course of the night I heard him speak six languages with apparent fluency and discuss topics ranging from exy to discrete mathematics to baking the perfect chocolate souffle, yet I was unable to corner him for even a moment to introduce myself. </p><p>Not long after I first arrived, a rather large professional exy player accidentally backed into one of the cater waiters, knocking her to the ground into a pile of broken glass. Mr. Josten was at her side almost instantly, helping her get up without cutting herself and comforting her in Spanish. She was luckily uninjured, but he insisted she rest in one of the bedrooms, at least until she calmed down a bit. He joked with her that he knew what it felt like to be tackled by that particular exy player, and whispered something in her ear that had her laughing. She agreed to sit down for a while, and I even saw Mr. Josten bringing her a plate of food later on.</p><p>Not long after that, Matt and Dan Boyd-Wilds made a toast, thanking everyone for coming. At the end they asked Neil to light the menorah and recite the blessings, which he did in flawless Hebrew. It is possible he only knows the prayers and is not fluent in the language, but I find it highly unlikely considering his apparent aptitude for languages.</p><p>I only speak English, Spanish, and some Hebrew myself, so I don’t know what he said while speaking any other languages, but he seemed fluent in them all. He, Erik, Nicky, and Aaron had a rousing debate about something in German, but it ended in smiles and laughter. He and Kevin Day appeared to be antagonizing each other in French, I caught him and Andrew Minyard sniping at each other in Russian, and even found him and Mohammad conversing in Dari like two old friends. </p><p>His discussion with Dr. Ben Lehto may as well have been in another language, as the two were chatting about highly advanced mathematical concepts that no one else could follow. They both seemed engrossed by the conversation, and Dr. Lehto’s wife had to interrupt to get them to rejoin the rest of the party. </p><p>Despite reports of rivalry between Mr. Josten and Mr. Minyard, Neil seemed exceptionally comfortable in Andrew’s home, helping to direct the caterers and assisting them when necessary. I tried on multiple occasions to engage him in conversation, but unfortunately he seemed to disappear each time before I could even really attempt it. I supposed I should be proud that I discovered as much as I did about him.</p>
<hr/><p>
    <em> CLARIFICATION DATED ONE WEEK AFTER INITIAL PUBLICATION: </em><br/>
<em> There has been major speculation in response to this article that Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten live together. Our reporter could not confirm this, and both Mr. Minyard and Mr. Josten have declined requests for comments. </em>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two: Strip Dreidel (Rated E)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Neil closed the door behind Nicky and Erik and took a deep breath. Everyone was finally gone. The caterers left the extra furniture and would come back tomorrow morning to collect it, but they had cleaned up everything else at least. Neil looked over at Andrew who was sitting on the floor in front of their fireplace with a jumbo candy cane in his mouth. </span>
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  <span>Andrew twisted to face Neil who was standing by the door across the room, and they made eye contact just as Andrew sucked the stick to the back of his throat. He pulled it out slowly with a loud pop!</span>
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  <span>“Want to play?” Andrew asked, picking up the dreidel from the floor next to him.</span>
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  <span>“You ate all the gelt.” Neil replied, his eyes still focused on Andrew’s wet lips as he walked towards the fireplace.</span>
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  <span>Andrew hummed consideringly, then said, “Strip dreidel.”</span>
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  <span>Neil finally looked away from Andrew’s lips to sit down across from him. When he looked back up Andrew was staring him down questioningly, the candy cane back in his mouth.</span>
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  <span>“How does that work?” Neil asked.</span>
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  <span>“‘Nun’ is nothing, ‘shin’ you have to take off a piece of clothing, ‘hay’ I have to take off a piece of clothing, ‘gimmel’ you get to take off an article of clothing off me.” </span>
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  <span>The fire was still burning and it was nice and warm by the hearth. Neil leaned over and plucked the dreidel out of Andrew’s hand. “Jew gets to go first.”</span>
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  <span>Neil felt the shape of the dreidel in his hand. He remembered sitting on the floor of cheap motel rooms with his mom. They couldn’t light the menorah, it was too conspicuous, but they could play dreidel. It was less about celebrating Chanukah, and more to do with the fact that the spinning top distracted and occupied Neil. </span>
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  <span>For years after their first Chanukah on the run Neil carried a small dreidel in his pocket, and his mother would encourage him to play with it when he was antsy and having trouble keeping quiet. At first he would try to see how long he could get it to spin for, and then how many spins in a row he could remember. Hay, nun, nun, gimmel, hay, shin, shin, hay, nun, gimmel, gimmel, gimmel, shin, hay, nun, and on and on. </span>
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  <span>Eventually he realized that most dreidels are not perfectly weighted, meaning with enough skill you can manipulate how it will land. He had practiced for weeks and weeks, feeling an overwhelming need to master the dreidel. He looked down at the hebrew letters now and thought about the story of Chanukah and his childhood prayers. ‘Nes gadol haya sham; a great miracle happened there.’</span>
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  <span>Neil stopped his train of thought before it could devolve further into memories of fear and blood. He didn’t need to master the dreidel tonight, because he and Andrew would both wind up naked no matter what. And he was no longer in need of any great miracles; his continued existence, his relationships with Andrew and all the foxes, and playing professional exy were all miraculous enough. Neil shook off the memories and looked back over at Andrew. The candy cane was hanging out of his mouth and he was leaning back on his hands, looking at Neil in a way that meant he knew where Neil had just gone in his head and was waiting for him to come back on his own. </span>
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  <span>Neil smiled at him then raked his gaze down Andrew’s taut torso. His shirt was riding up and there were a couple inches of exposed skin above his waistband. Neil eyed his happy trail and v-cuts and imagined running his tongue through them, then lightly biting his hip bones. He would make Andrew’s skin break out into goosebumps by blowing over the trail of saliva and Andrew would try not to squirm. </span>
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  <span>His train of thought was broken by Andrew throwing the balled up candy wrapper at him to get his attention. “Are we playing or what?” His words came out slightly garbled because he still had the candy cane in his mouth. </span>
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  <span>Neil couldn’t say anything back. Andrew’s lips were wet with spit and pinker than usual from the red dye. They were parted around the rod and his cheek was bulging where the end was wedged between his jaw and his teeth. Neil watched, transfixed, as Andrew’s Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed around it. </span>
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  <span>Neil reached up and tugged on the curved end of the candy cane, but Andrew caught it between his teeth, bit down, and sucked so it would stay in his mouth. Neil looked into his eyes and saw a challenge in them. He smirked back and slowly started to push the candy cane further past Andrews lips. Andrew relaxed his mouth around it and let Neil drive it even deeper down his throat, sticking his tongue out to give Neil’s fingertips a little lick when they came to rest against his lips. Neil pulled the candy cane back until barely an inch was left in Andrew’s mouth, then pushed it back in again, slowly, inch by inch. </span>
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  <span>Neil’s breathing had started to quicken. He moved on top of Andrew’s lap as he slid the candy down his throat. When there was just over an inch left to go before the hook, Andrew sucked in so the candy cane was quickly pulled all the way down, and Neil’s fingers were once again against Andrew’s lips. </span>
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  <span>“Fuck,” Neil said, still holding the end of the candy cane in place. He pulled it completely out of Andrew’s mouth and leaned down to kiss him. Andrew tasted minty and sweet, with a faint hint of whiskey underneath. He sucked Neil’s tongue into his mouth, massaging it with his own. Neil was kneeling over Andrew, straddling his hips with his legs. Andrew reached around Neil’s waist and with his hands on Neil’s ass he pulled him down to sit in his lap so they’re faces were more level. Neil moaned when he felt Andrew’s bulge rub against his own, and ground down further into Andrew’s lap and hands. </span>
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  <span>Andrew tightened his grip on Neil’s ass and slowed down his movements. He pressed his tongue into Neils mouth and leisurely caressed Neil’s tongue. Neil pulled back for air then moved his attention to Andrew’s neck, starting to kiss and suck under Andrew’s left ear. Like usual, Andrew’s entire body reacted, sending a shiver down his spine, but before Neil could get a proper hickey started Andrew said stop. </span>
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  <span>Neil immediately pulled back from Andrew’s neck and Andrew effortlessly lifted him off his lap and dropped him back across the floor. </span>
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  <span>“Spin.” Andrew said, calmly reaching over to take the candy cane out of Neil’s unresisting hand.</span>
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  <span>“It’s really fucking sexy when you manhandle me like that you know.” Neil said, needing a moment to refocus after the kissing, and fucking Andrew’s mouth with a candy cane, not to mention how Andrew had just moved him as though he weighed no more than a sack of flour. “Why are we even doing this? Lets just go to bed.”</span>
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  <span>“I want to play.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine then, let's raise the stakes. Loser has to get up to let the caterers in at 8 AM tomorrow morning.” It was already past two in the morning, and they probably wouldn’t be falling asleep until closer to four, so Neil was eager to unload that responsibility. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew nodded his agreement and Neil set the dreidel down, angling and spinning it in a way he knew would give him a nice smooth but not too lengthy spin. It was his first time playing with this particular dreidel so he couldn’t try to manipulate the landing yet. He got a nun, meaning nothing happened for his turn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Boring,” Andrew said, picking up the dreidel and spinning it hard and fast. It made a few quick wobbly rotations before landing hard on shin. Neil smiled and picked up the dreidel. He started surreptitiously rolling and weighing it in his palm as Andrew pulled off his arm bands and flung them up on the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dreidel was a cheap plastic affair, most likely glued together and extremely poorly balanced.  Andrew was looking at Neil expectantly so Neil spun again, this time attempting to finesse a gimmel. When it landed Neil smiled smugly, knowing we could replicate the spin for the rest of the game. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to take your top off,” Neil said, climbing back into Andrew’s lap and snickering. “It’s a pun, do you get it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How clever.” Andrew responded dryly, lifting his hands to rest them on Neil’s ass again but when Neil shook his head he stopped and rested them on the ground next to him instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil was sitting between Andrew’s legs facing him, and he leaned back to give himself enough room to get his hands under the hem of Andrew’s shirt. He let his fingers wander a bit, scratching through his happy trail, then up over his abs, feeling the hard, solid muscles under Andrew’s soft skin. When he reached his nipples Neil rotated his hands outwards so just his thumbs rubbed against them while the rest of his fingers reached out towards Andrew’s sides. He felt his nipples harden under his thumbs and started circling and teasing the nubs while the rest of his hands rested, spread out over Andrew’s ribcage, feeling the expansion and contraction of his lungs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil had been watching the movements of his hands under Andrew’s shirt but he looked up now to see Andrew with his head tilted back and eyes closed, enjoying the sensation of Neil’s hands on him, holding him. He was beautiful, like living art. The firelight casted moving shadows over his lips and eyelids while lighting his blonde hair into a halo and reflecting off his long delicate eyelashes. More than all that, he looked relaxed and content, and Neil felt it as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil leaned forward to drop a quick kiss on the pulse point of his neck then said into his ear, “Lift your arms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt the movement of Andrew’s muscles under his fingers. Neil slid his palms back down to Andrew’s hips in order to be able to slide up his hands up the entire length of his elongated sides. Andrew’s soft black shirt bunched over Neil’s forearms as they traveled up his body. Neil avoided tickling, but once his hands reached Andrew’s arms and the shirt started to lift over Andrew’s head, Neil ducked down to nestle a kiss in the curls of each armpit, breathing in Andrew’s scent. When Andrew’s head was clear Neil pulled the fabric between his arms to bring them back down. He reverently slid the shirt over Andrew’s forearms, feeling his scars under his fingertips, and once it was completely off he gently kissed the inside of each wrist once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew didn’t say anything, but once Neil dropped his wrists he easily lifted Neil off his lap. With even more force behind his movements this time, Andrew deposited Neil back on his spot on the floor. Neil watched his muscles flex and contract as he did it and had to readjust himself once he was back in his seat. Andrew caught the movement and smirked at him while spinning the dreidel again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got a hay this time, and Neil pulled his own sweater off quickly. He wasn’t wearing an undershirt, nor his armbands tonight. The two of them sat shirtless across from each other, both hard and horny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you want to keep playing?” Neil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you forfeiting?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never.” Neil said, smirking. He spun again and got another gimmel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand up.” Neil instructed. Andrew got to his feet obediently and stood waiting while Neil sat up on his knees. He slid over to Andrew and looked up at him, batting his eyelashes as he ran his hands over the waist of Andrew’s pants, lightly ghosting his fingertips over his skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is definitely your best angle, pretty boy.” Andrew said looking down at him. He put his hand against Neil’s scared cheek and circled his mouth with his thumb. Neil automatically nuzzled into his warm hand and parted his lips, but Andrew didn’t push his finger inside. “But you still can’t ever keep your mouth shut.” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moved his hand away from Neil’s face quickly and Neil let out a small gasp at the loss of contact. Andrew tsked down at him as he folded his arms over his chest. “Get to it then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since I can’t keep my mouth shut I may as well put it to good use, right?” Neil said as he pulled Andrew’s belt off. Once it was out of the way he sat up and started rubbing his nose along Andrew’s fly, feeling his hard cock underneath. Andrew put his hands in Neil’s hair and Neil pulled back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hands behind your back, this is my turn.” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew rolled his eyes but crossed his arms back again. Neil went back to work, starting with Andrew’s button. He held the top corner in his teeth and tried tugging it back, but the pants wouldn’t unfasten. He moved on to the actual button part, using his tongue and teeth to try and push it through the hole. It took some effort and by the time he got it through the entire area was damp with his saliva. He looked up at Andrew with a proud smile on his face and Andrew rolled his eyes again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Took you long enough.” he said, but he was breathing heavily and his body was tense from trying to stop himself from arching his hips forward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil nuzzled his entire face into Andrew’s crotch, rubbing his cheek on Andrew’s boner through the two layers of fabric. “Worth the wait though.” He groaned, then moved to bite the zipper pull between his teeth and pulled it down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew’s dick shifted in his loosened pants and Neil nosed under them to start licking it through his trunks from bottom to top. As he suckled the head he brought his hands up to pull Andrew’s pants completely out of the way. He could taste Andrew through the fabric and his own hard on was throbbing painfully between his legs. He went back to licking and kissing up and down the shaft while he slowly lowered Andrew’s pants, pausing now and then to rub his hands all around Andrew’s thick, firm thighs. Once Andrew’s pants were around his ankles Neil blew over the wet spot on Andrew’s trunks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.” Andrew said, unable to suppress the jerk of his hips.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil pulled back, openly palming his own erection over his pants as he settled back into his spot. “Your turn.” he said, looking up with a devilish smile at Andrew who had not moved from his position, standing with his pants around his ankles, his hands behind his back, and a huge wet spot on his underwear. His eyes were closed and his jaw was clenched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he opened his eyes to glare down at Neil, Neil leaned back against the couch and moved his unoccupied hand to start playing with his nipple while he continued pressing on his dick. “Unless, you want to forfeit?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew kicked his pants off his ankles and used his foot to fling them into Neil’s face. Neil spluttered and started laughing but by the time he threw them aside Andrew was back sitting on the floor, about to spin again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil started laughing when he got another shin, but to his surprise Andrew was smirking as well. Neil understood why when instead of reaching down to take off his socks like Neil had expected him to do, Andrew lifted his hips and pulled off his underwear, freeing his erection and stopping Neil’s laughter dead. Neil looked up at Andrew’s hazel eyes with obvious hunger in his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spin Neil,” Andrew said, then he licked his palm, reached down, and started stroking his cock. Neil didn’t move. “I bet you get another gimmel. Is it Chanukah spirit, or something more?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil was still fixated on Andrew’s hand, slowly moving up and down his beautiful cock. He had unconsciously started mirroring him and rubbing his own erection at the same pace, but at Andrew’s comment he looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw you weighing the dreidel, I’m not your average shiksa.” Andrew said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil groaned, squeezing his dick. “You know I love it when you speak yiddish, you motherfucker.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Andrew went on in his impassive voice, still stroking himself, “if you think I’m going to schlep my ass out of bed at 8 AM tomorrow, you’re meshugenah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You agreed to the bet, it’s not my fault I’m exceptionally skilled with a dreidel. And I gave you a chance to call it off.” Neil said, licking his lips, his were eyes back on Andrew’s hands, the second of which had joined to fondle his balls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, new bet. If you can land on hay you win. Anything else you have to get up early tomorrow. Whatever you get though we’re done with the game.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since Neil had only figured out how to spin a gimmel with this dreidel, trying to get any other letter was pretty much leaving it up to chance. He was so horny at this point though that he didn’t really care anymore. He picked up the dreidel and gave it another smooth spin. It went on longer than he intended, and he started to stand before it even fell. Andrew stayed seated, watching it move over the floorboards until it landed with a clatter on hay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a Chanukah miracle!” Neil said, reaching his hand down to help Andrew up. “I’ll set the alarm for you. Let’s go.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew muttered something under his breath but accepted Neil’s hand. As soon as he was on his feet he turned into Neil’s body and kissed him hard, rubbing his dick against Neil’s pants. Neil melted into the kiss, opening his mouth for Andrew to explore and wrapping his arms around Andrew’s neck, digging his fingers into his hair while he humped into the friction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon.” Andrew said, pulling away and walking ahead of Neil into their bedroom. Neil took a moment to appreciate his muscular back and sculpted ass before he followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he entered their bedroom he nearly slipped on Andrew’s discarded sock and stopped to take his own off. Andrew was already sprawled across their bed, playing with himself again. The lights were off but the shades were open, letting in the lights of the city and the nearly full moon. All the colors were washed out and again Andrew looked like a work of art, this time reminding Neil of those black and white etchings that he had liked when Kevin dragged him to the Art Institute of Chicago. If Neil could capture this moment and save it in a drawing he would have titled it “Home,” but then again, anything with Andrew in it he would always title “Home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took off his pants and underwear and grabbed the lube from his bedside table before joining Andrew on the bed. Andrew rolled on top of him and started kissing him again, this time running his hands down Neil’s chest and sides. Neil let his weight push him into the mattress, hissing when Andrew’s fingers found his nipples and gave them a hard squeeze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew sat up to get a pillow and the lube then situated himself between Neil’s legs. He grabbed Neil’s hip roughly with one hand and lifted him nearly two feet off the mattress to place the pillow under his ass then let him drop back down. Neil grabbed the headboard and gasped at the feeling of being moved around like a doll, loving Andrew’s strength. Andrew smirked at the sound and bent down to start peppering kisses across Neil’s hips and the insides of his thighs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew picked a spot on Neil’s inner thigh and started biting and sucking, working on a spectacular hickey and causing Neil to start twisting his hips, desperate to get Andrew’s mouth on his cock. Andrew grabbed him to keep him still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My turn.” he said, looking up at Neil from between his thighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I put my hands in your hair?” Neil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Andrew said, going back to give the hickey one last delicious bite. He moved on to lick the tip of Neil’s dick, catching the bead of precum that was leaking from it then wrapping his tongue around the head. Neil’s hands flew into Andrew’s hair as he gasped, unable to move his hips under Andrew’s unyielding grip. He clawed his fingers into Andrew’s scalp as he licked down Neil’s dick by pressing his wet tongue flat against it for a few seconds, then pulling back and pausing to watch Neil’s cock twitch. When he got to the bottom he scattered kisses in the hair around the base, all the while torturing Neil with his hot breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew moved even lower and took one of Neil’s balls into his mouth, sucking lightly as he massaged it with his tongue. He looked up at Neil through his lashes, Neil’s ball in his mouth and hands in his hair and Neil almost stopped breathing. He tugged on Andrew’s soft hair and Andrew’s eyes rolled back, but he didn’t pause in moving on to Neil’s other ball. After he gave it the same treatment as the first, he moved up again and swallowed Neil’s dick down to the base in one smooth movement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil groaned at the intense warmth around his cock, and felt the back of Andrew’s throat tightening and then relaxing around the tip. He felt Andrew’s lips at the base, plump and wet and so warm. He started tugging at Andrew’s hair again, still unable to move his hips but needing more. Andrew pulled half way up, sucking as he went, then took it back down to the hilt. Andrew’s eyes were closed now but Neil couldn’t look away as he continued sucking his cock, getting into a rhythm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew finally moved one of his hands off Neil’s side and brought it down to start playing with his balls while he continued sucking, massaging the underside of Neil’s cock with his tongue. He pulled back periodically until just the tip was in his mouth and stroked the rest with his hand. Neil’s head fell back on the pillows and he closed his eyes, letting the pleasure wash over him. He kept his hands in Andrew’s hair, occasionally tugging, sometimes hard, which he knew Andrew enjoyed from the sounds that he couldn’t suppress. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil felt a tap on his hip and looked down to see Andrew looking up at him. He pulled off his dick completely but kept stroking it with one hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck my face.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil’s mouth went dry and he nodded, tightening his fingers in Andrew’s hair. Andrew put his hands back on Neil’s hips, lightly this time, and opened his mouth wide. Neil used his grip to guide Andrew’s mouth back to his cock and pulled him down, slowly at first, until his lips were flush against his pubic hair. Andrew kept his jaw slack and eyes open, looking up at Neil. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.” Neil said, looking down at Andrew. Andrew with his pink lips spread around Neil, his cheeks flushed, wanting and waiting. Wanting to feel Neil deep inside of himself, trusting him to make him feel good. It was exhilarating, and Neil started to thrust his hips upwards into Andrew’s waiting mouth. He kept his grip on Andrew’s head firm, and felt his throat flutter around him. He started moving Andrew’s head along with his hips. Andrew kept his jaw relaxed but started moving his tongue around Neil causing him to call out Andrew’s name like a prayer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil kept his eyes on Andrew the entire time and began increasing the pace of his movements. Andrew’s eyes fluttered closed, and Neil felt the puffs of breath coming out of his nose. He pistoned his hips in and out, pressure and pleasure building in his groin. Soon he pulled Andrew all the way down and held him there. Andrew looked up, his eyes locking with Neil’s as he swallowed and his throat fluttered around Neil’s dick.Tears started to gather in his eyes and drool dripped down his chin. Just as the tears started to fall, Neil pulled him all the way off. They both were breathing hard, and Neil sat up to pull Andrew in for a kiss, wiping the tears off Andrew’s left cheek with his thumb then breaking away to lick the tear off his right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna switch?” Neil asked, panting into Andrew’s ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew was still catching his breath but he rubbed his hands over Neil’s back, squeezing his ass then bringing them up and around to his shoulders. He pushed Neil back down onto the pillows, hovering over him as he went and said “I want to fuck you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Neil responded, moving to get comfortable on his back with his knees bent and feet flat on the mattress. He positioned his ass on the edge of the pillow to make sure Andrew had easy access.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew lightly bit his pec directly over Neil’s old bullet scar as he settled in. He sat back upright on his knees to find where the lube had gotten to, while using the back of his hand to wipe the saliva off his chin. He found the bottle among the blankets and poured a healthy amount into his hand, spreading it over his fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he was back between Neil’s legs he started stroking Neil’s cock with one hand while he used the other to circle Neil’s hole, not touching the rim yet. Neil took a deep breath and relaxed his body further, then felt Andrew’s index finger as it stroked directly over his opening, teasing but not quite entering yet. Andrew spread more lube on Neil, turned his head to ghost a kiss on hickey on the inside of Neil’s thigh, then pushed the tip of his index finger in up to the second knuckle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t meet any resistance so he immediately started moving it, stretching Neil from the inside while slowly jacking him off with his other hand. He added a second finger, pushing them in deeper and using his thumb to rub Neil’s perineum while he scissored them open, feeling the resistance of his walls and working to relax them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Andrew.” Neil groaned when he grazed against his prostate, reveling in the feeling of Andrew’s thick fingers inside of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew started thrusting his fingers in and out with more force, loving the sounds of Neil grunting and calling out his name. “How many?” he asked, knowing that sometimes Neil liked the initial burn when he pushed inside, but he always needed to confirm that he wanted it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just two,” Neil said slightly out of breath, “I want you from behind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew pulled out his fingers with a sharp twist, and before Neil could move he flipped him over and pulled him up to his hands and knees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s really fucking sexy when I manhandle you, right?” he said, leaning over Neil’s back to whisper in his ear. He nibbled on it, licking the shell while roughly kneading Neil’s ass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Neil’s brain caught up to what Andrew had said, Neil turned his head back and caught Andrew’s lips in his for a sloppy kiss. Andrew started rubbing his erection between Neil’s asscheeks and Neil started pushing back into him. Andrew pulled back to pour more lube on his cock, he stilled Neil’s movements with a hand on his hip and used the other to press the tip of his dick into Neil’s hole. He paused briefly when Neil hissed at the sensation, but Neil immediately started nodding his head, letting Andrew know he wanted him to keep going.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew pushed forward slowly but smoothly until his hips were flush against Neil. He spread Neil’s asscheeks with his hands, seeing his dick disappear into Neil’s hole and moaned at the sight. Neil arched his back at the sound, and Andrew’s hands made their way up to Neil’s shoulders and squeezed them. Neil looked back at him and smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure this isn’t my best angle?” he asked, breathlessly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew pushed the back of Neil’s head down with a huff and started to move his hips. He pulled out slowly then quickly pushed back in and started a thrusting with a punishing pace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neil was letting out a steady stream of grunts, interspersed with Andrew’s name, spurring Andrew on to push faster and harder. He had been on his knees between Neil’s legs, but he moved his right foot to the outside of Neil’s body to get better leverage to drive into him even deeper. He pushed Neil’s shoulders down so he was resting on his forearms rather than his hands, then grabbed Neil’s hips and started slamming them back into his thrusts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Touch yourself.” Andrew commanded, and Neil obeyed immediately, stroking his hard cock in time with Andrew’s movements, unable to think of anything. His entire brain was consumed with the sensations of Andrew pressing into him, lighting him up with pleasure and endorphins, Andrew’s hands bruising his hips as he moved Neil where he wanted him, needed him. It made it even better for Neil, knowing that as good as it felt for him, Andrew was feeling pleasure because of Neil as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew adjusted the angle of his thrusts and Neil howled with ecstasy as Andrew’s dick started to rub incessantly over his prostate. Andrew moved his hands back to Neil’s shoulders and scratched down Neil’s back, not breaking the skin but hard enough to leave raised red lines behind each of his fingertips. The new sensations pushed Neil over the edge, and he started coming into his hand, groaning out Andrew’s name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andrew continued plowing into Neil until he saw his hand had stopped moving. As soon as Andrew pulled out Neil collapsed onto his stomach, panting as though he had just run a marathon, not caring that he was lying on top of his mess. He felt Andrew’s strong hands flipping him over again, and had to blink the haze of pleasure and exhaustion out of his eyes once he was on his back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he got his eyes to focus again, Andrew was straddling his chest, jerking himself off with one hand while the other reached back to play with his hole. Neil wet his fingers with the cooling cum on his stomach then pushed Andrew’s hand out of the way and slipped his own index finger into Andrew’s ass. Andrew pulled Neil’s chin down to open his mouth and hooked his thumb behind his bottom teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like seeing your face, pretty boy.” Andrew said, continuing to jerk himself off. Neil tried to smile but Andrew was still holding his mouth open, so instead he stuck out his tongue and pressed his finger deeper into Andrew who came with a groan, striping Neil’s face and tongue with his cum. When he finished Neil pulled his hand away but neither of them moved otherwise, staring into each other’s eyes and breathing heavily. Neil’s mouth was still open, tongue sticking out with Andrew’s cum pooling on it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay,” Andrew said, squeezing Neil’s chin lightly. He said it without inflection but Neil understood it was a question. He blinked once to signal yes to Andrew, and Andrew reached down with his other hand to pet Neil’s tongue, stroking through the cum on it with his finger. He sucked the finger clean in his own mouth then moved to Neil’s cheeks and forehead, collecting the cum that had landed there with his finger and wiping it on Neil’s tongue. When he was satisfied he let go of Neil’s chin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Swallow.” he said, and Neil did, closing his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was way too soon for him to get hard again, but it was so hot that Neil felt his dick twitch valiantly. When he opened his eyes again Andrew leaned down and kissed him fiercely, moving his body so he was laying flat against Neil with all his weight pressing him into the mattress. He knotted his hands into Neil’s hair and pulled his head back slightly to look over his face, then leaned in and licked the remnants of cum off of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he was finished he moved to rest his head on Neil’s chest, but Neil caught him with a finger under his chin and kissed him again. When Neil was satisfied that he had chased the taste out of Andrew’s mouth, he let him go and Andrew curled into Neil. They were both asleep within minutes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were both still exceptionally light sleepers, so even though they had only gotten three and a half hours of sleep, when Neil’s phone alarm went off at 7:30 in the morning they both woke up instantly. Neil rolled over to his bedside table to turn off the alarm, and when he turned back around Andrew was glaring at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go take a shower, they’ll be here in 30 minutes.” Neil said, snuggling back down into his pillow. When he didn’t feel any movement he opened his eyes again. Andrew was still glaring at him, laying on his back and running his hands sleepily through his hair but not moving. Neil was not one to nag, if Andrew wanted to let the caterers in all crusty and covered in cum that was his prerogative, but Neil was spending at least another hour in bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as he closed his eyes again he heard the tinkling of Sir and King’s collars coming through the door. They didn’t like strangers and had been sulking in the spare bedroom since the caterers first arrived yesterday afternoon. They both jumped onto the bed, Sir went to curl into the warmth of Neil’s side and King sat down directly on Andrew’s chest, staring deeply into his eyes. Andrew stared intently back for a couple minutes and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Move.” he said to the cat, who bumped her head against Andrew’s forehead then slinked off of him, going to cuddle with Sir and Neil. Andrew got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Neil smiled into his pillow and closed his eyes, falling back asleep to the sounds of the shower running, feeling perfectly content.</span>
</p>
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